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Hi
I wonder if it would be a good idea to put a bit of fresh wood in the tanks with Panaque's and Panaqolus's? There might be some good things in the bark and in the nature I guess that they will chew on fresh wood?? Right now i only have that dry "hardwood" that you buy in your lfs. Is there anybody who have tried it out? and what types do you then use.
Steen

Hi!

I've never tried but it will surely rot in your tank...which wouldnt be too good for the plecos!
Maybe try live bamboo

Hi!

Well wood is sure require when keeping Panaqolus, the more tender one is sure the best!!!!
Cheers
Yann

I was under the understanding that they need the wood to help with their digestive system.

As for wood rotting, i think it bepends on what sorts, i had some driftwood that i brought from a petsmart which rotted away a good un, but now i have proper hard wood from a specialist fish shop which has been in the tank for 3 months now and no problems with it rotting.

I think its best to stick with those driftwoods found in lfs. You never know if the wood might be suitable for the plecos.

Yep until now I haven't dared to put fresh wood my tanks, but I thought that others might have tried. There could be some nutritional good stuff in it for the dear pleco's.
I guess i have to try a little piece of some nontoxic type to see if my Panaque or Panaqolus´s show any interest.

Hi!

I thought about it a bit and came to the conclusion that theres a great chance they dont eat live wood in nature cauz it would just be too hard and soft dead wood is easily accessible.

I think the rot you experienced with bought wood is different from the "dieing" process thats happens to wood in rivers.

Steen wrote:Hi
I wonder if it would be a good idea to put a bit of fresh wood in the tanks with Panaque's and Panaqolus's? There might be some good things in the bark and in the nature I guess that they will chew on fresh wood?? Right now i only have that dry "hardwood" that you buy in your lfs. Is there anybody who have tried it out? and what types do you then use.
Steen

I read it a bit fast, but you really should not try putting fresh wood taken in the nature as the might release some toxic stuff and could carry disease...
Better buy one from the store, million way safer!!!

Cheers
Yann

Fresh wood contains sap which might be detrimental to your fish...I don't know if an aquarium filter system could handle these toxins pretty well...remember you're using a contained/restricted environment unlike a river system which has numerous means of eliminating such toxins.

Well Ok, I won't do it, I won't do it, promise . You have convinced me that it might be a bad idea to do it so I won't. I have to realize that even my 720 l tank is small compared to the great Amazon river, so I guess I have to find something else for my pleco's to chew on. Thanks for the advise.
Steen

Well...you could try and experiment on it...and then tell us the results

i know that walnut and hazenut wood contain very poisonous stuff...i heard from a friend that they lost their pond fish due to leafs falling into it

Just an idea:
It's not fresh wood, but just another way to get cheap wood:
If you dive or you know a diver then you can get old soft dead wood e.g. from lakes.

-Klaus

Unfortunately I am not diving but I always have my eyes open for nice roots/wood when I go fishing

Dead, dried, debarked wood is what I've always placed in my tanks. It takes awhile to find the right piece, but I live near a beach, so finding naturally bleached driftwood is pretty easy. Soak for a week in dechlorinated water, refreshed daily, and I've never experienced problems. If you live near the woods, try to collect fallen stuff that hasn't been sitting around and rotting. Stay away from anything that's been near a roadway since it will be covered with nasty car stuff.

Personally, I wouldn't use green "fresh" wood. Beyond the leaching of saps or tannins, usually green wood is still attached to its tree! If you wish to collect green wood, you will have to dry it out first before you place it in your tank.

Hardwoods (oaks, maples, cherry etc) are usually better in a tank then softwoods (pines). My favorite is sycamore, since it is a wetland tree and its debris can often be found in rivers and around similar habitat.

If you're looking to give your plecos some fresh stuff, try veggies.
~~Colesea

i contacted http://www.towson.edu/users/nelson/Panaque/panaque.html after reading the article and he suggested soft woods like birch.

kgroenhoej wrote:Just an idea:
It's not fresh wood, but just another way to get cheap wood:
If you dive or you know a diver then you can get old soft dead wood e.g. from lakes.

-Klaus

Hi!
If you do so , be carefull as this can carry micororganism , parasit, disease..., so make sure to boil it for a long time before putting in a tank.
You also have to be sure that these have been in the water for more that 1 year to considered it safe to use , that the wood would not release any more thing!
Cheers
Yann